Well first you would have to define what constitutes an 'American' beer because virtually all of our styles are interpretations, extensions, enhancements or bastardizations of Old World beers (which we should be quite proud of). Unless we are calling CDA, IDA or whatever you want to call it an American invention.

For the purposes of this thread, I will give a nod to highly hopped creations as being "American'. That being said, De Ranke XX bitter has been one of the best at the liberal use of hops. In general I think the Belgian attempts at creating highly hopped beers has been a colossal failure but XX Bitter stands out as a success in my book.

How 'bout the American beer the Belgians brew in the old Stag brewery in London*, the one named after a city in the Czech Republic - can't get more American than that.

* Still open, right? Despite having previously been on AB-InBev's chopping block for awhile?​

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That's the new Stag Brewery, really. The original Watney's Stag Brewery was between Victoria Station and Buckingham Palace. Mortlake was renamed the Stag Brewery when the original closed in 1959. (Thank you Norman Barber.)

Whoa, if taking something that has centuries of tradition behind it, and making it a flavorless mass produced swill that appeases the lowest common denomonator isn't an american invention I don't know what is. Now give me a coors lite and and some taco bell.

Whoa, if taking something that has centuries of tradition behind it, and making it a flavorless mass produced swill that appeases the lowest common denomonator isn't an american invention I don't know what is. Now give me a coors lite and and some taco bell.

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yea but even lager from bmc was invented in europe first is my point. meaning no beer I can think was but maybe steam was invented here.

There are none, and no one in this thread has even mentioned a beer that fits the definition IMHO. Except maybe jesskidden . A few have mentioned beers I've never heard of and aren't listed on this site.

I'm going to try to hijack this thread and propose that, IMHO, to qualify as a "Belgian-brewed American beer" it has to be brewed in Belgium by a Belgian owned brewery, and the style of the beer must be listed under "American Ales" or "American Lagers" on this site, specifically:

I'm on the fence about "Belgian IPA." I think maybe some of these (clearly not all) could be considered American, but it's listed as Belgian on this site. I don't think De Ranke XX Bitter qualifies as it isn't even brewed with American hops, and Houblon Chouffe is really just a Belgian Tripel with American hops added at the end.

Again, none of the beers mentioned so far seem to fit, just IMHO. I like the thread though, can you tell?

The Struise/Molen Black Damnation series is a perfect blend of Belgian/Dutch skill and knowhow and big American balls in terms of flavor. Somehow people seem to think it's a rule that every 13%+ beer has to be flat and dead. If so, they've never had a Black Albert or any of its glorious BD variants. These are the beers that got me into craft and despite all of America's best efforts, they haven't been beaten yet.

13% with a head and carbonation as gorgeous as you like. Technical perfection in pitch black form.

Too bad they strayed from the path and can't stop doing these whacky-ass barrel aged beers that make zero sense. Like Black Jack: take a nearly flavorless porter, age it on wine barrels with blueberries (the world's most useless fruit, except for sours), notice it still hasn't got any flavor and then age it on bourbon just to salvage the batch. Come on now.

So what about all of these American brewed IPA's coming out using exclusively (or predominantly) Galaxy, Jade, Riwaka etc. hops? Not American?

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I didn't say anything brewed with New Zealand (or even non-American) hops is not American. De Ranke XX Bitter is brewed with Continental / Noble hops, the same kinds used in all classic Belgian styles, there's just more of them.

It's kinda off topic if an IPA with a clean American yeast/malt profile brewed with Australian or New Zealand hops qualifies as an American IPA, but I'd say "yes."

yea but even lager from bmc was invented in europe first is my point. meaning no beer I can think was but maybe steam was invented here.

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Rice is still used in some European and Asian beers, so it's not a uniquely American thing. Reinheitsgebot was mostly effective in the post-1871 Germany in wiping out centuries of tradition in addition to competition by Bavarian breweries. But that's for another discussion entirely.

As far as steam beer goes, it was developed independently in America and Germany, so it's not a unique American invention. There's a style of beer in Germany called dampfbier (literally steam beer) that is an all-barley ale utilizing hefeweizen yeast, so it's essentially a "hefe-barley." Obviously, this is quite different from Anchor Steam Beer and you can certainly read up on the process of making these beer styles and realize they're quite different.

The Classic American Pilsner that utilizes either rice or corn as an adjunct is also not the same as the German Pilsener or the Czech Pilsner. This was a style that also gave rise to the American Cream Ale and its variants such as the Kentucky Common (a darker American ale that utilizes barley, corn, and rye in the grain bill).

There's a style of beer in Germany called dampfbier (literally steam beer) that is an all-barley ale utilizing hefeweizen yeast, so it's essentially a "hefe-barley."

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This one just won't die.

I've been to the brewery in Zwiesel in the Bayerischer Wald where they brew Dampfbier. I spoke to the brewer and specifically asked about the yeast strain. According to him, it is not and never has been a Hefeweizen strain. It's just a neutral top-fermenting strain.

Dampfbier tastes like a lightly-hopped Altbier. Not a trace of the spiciness from a Weissbier yeast.

There has been some discussion about Belgian IPAs. Below is something I posted previously on this topic:

I am of the opinion that there are two sub-styles of Belgian IPAs.

There is an American style Belgian IPA where American hops are used. Examples of this sub-style are Flying Dog Raging Bitch, Lagunitas A Little Sumpin Wild, Stone Cali-Belgique, Green Flash Le Freak, etc.

The Belgian brewed Belgian IPAs utilize European hops which result in a beer of a different character. Examples of this sub-style are De Ranke XX Bitter, Poperings Hommel Bier, Piraat, etc.

My personal preference is the American style Belgian IPA with my favorite being Flying Dog Raging Bitch. I also really like the Flying Dog’s new beer: Wildeman Farmhouse IPA.

The Struise/Molen Black Damnation series is a perfect blend of Belgian/Dutch skill and knowhow and big American balls in terms of flavor. Somehow people seem to think it's a rule that every 13%+ beer has to be flat and dead. If so, they've never had a Black Albert or any of its glorious BD variants. These are the beers that got me into craft and despite all of America's best efforts, they haven't been beaten yet.

13% with a head and carbonation as gorgeous as you like. Technical perfection in pitch black form.

Too bad they strayed from the path and can't stop doing these whacky-ass barrel aged beers that make zero sense. Like Black Jack: take a nearly flavorless porter, age it on wine barrels with blueberries (the world's most useless fruit, except for sours), notice it still hasn't got any flavor and then age it on bourbon just to salvage the batch. Come on now.

Whoa, if taking something that has centuries of tradition behind it, and making it a flavorless mass produced swill that appeases the lowest common denomonator isn't an american invention I don't know what is. Now give me a coors lite and and some taco bell.